


Spectrum

by Niori



Series: Ceremonials [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Awesome Pepper Potts, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Community: norsekink, Fenrir!Bucky, Happy, Hela!Pepper, Hinted Bucky/Steve, Let these characters be happy for once, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 06:51:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14514813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niori/pseuds/Niori
Summary: Bucky stiffened when he realized that Steve was there. It was awkward for half a second, and then it was replaced, almost sheepish and hesitant, "Hey Steve.""You fell," was all Steve could get out past his dry throat. It was all he could think, looking at the best friend who was supposed to be dead. His mind couldn't move past it.(In which Steve gets his best friend back and Bucky isn’t the greatest at explanations)





	Spectrum

**Author's Note:**

> *crickets*...Yeah, I know. I have all the regular (and valid) excuses about RL, lack of inspiration, and writer's block that you've all heard a million times from a million different authors. Well, Infinity War left me with a lot of feelings to work through, so here we are. I need hope.

Steve watched all the children in front of him with a smile on his face. They looked completely enraptured, watching the snow glide through the air. He was pretty useless here, but getting to watch this much joy was worth it. It wasn't only the children, but Pepper as well. He hadn't seen the woman so relaxed in months, not since her alter ego had been revealed. She had been on edge since then, and it wasn't like Steve blamed her for it. They fully expected Asgard to come for her, even if they couldn't predict when. Pepper was ready to fight tooth and nail, and Steve would be behind her every step of the way, but waiting for the hammer to fall -probably literally- was getting to them all.

It was why Steve had taken to staying close to her whenever they were out in public, even if Tony or the other Avengers were nearby. He liked Pepper, and he was damn well going to do everything he could to help defend her. When on these PR moments (a jamboree that was thrown for the entertainment and to raise money for group homes throughout the city), where Pepper was out in public doing good to curry favour, he tended to stick with her. They always went in pairs, so it was pretty obvious. Pepper, of course, knew exactly what he was doing. She had just smiled at him, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said, "You're adorable," in a humoured voice. Steve had blushed, but kept doing it anyway. He'd keep doing it too, until Pepper asked him to stop. She hadn't yet. 

Steve stood behind her, watching her weave her magic to enthralled kids. When everyone found out that Pepper could control ice, there was no getting out of it. In a post- Frozen world, there was little that could cheer a large number of kids more than that. Pepper hadn't minded. She told them as long as they didn't expect her to sing, she'd happy to do it. The snow swirled, out through the children and then back, until it formed into the snowman from Frozen. Steve almost winced at the sound of a hundred screaming kids. It didn't die down for a long time. 

"Sorry everyone," Pepper said once there was enough silence, "I can't bring Olaf to life. It's actually a lot harder than it looks." 

There were groans of disappointment, and Steve had to admit that he was a little put out too. That would have been neat to see. A few minutes later, Pepper waved to them all and stepped off the stage. There was a lot of clapping, and Steve joined in when Pepper was back at his side.

"Can't bring the snowman to life, huh?" He teased her, "I thought you had all this powerful magic."

"They made me the goddess of death. Creating life isn't exactly in that skill set."

"Fair enough," he replied, not showing the touch of unease that brought him. He still didn't believe the Asgardians were actually gods, but he couldn't deny they had the power to back up their claim. Having the power over death was more than a little terrifying. He was just grateful it was Pepper who had that power, not someone like Loki. Then again, knowing what Steve knew, Loki probably wasn't the worst Asgardian who could have it.

"You ready for your turn?" Pepper asked him, gesturing up to the stage, where the announcer was getting ready to invite him on. 

Steve grimaced, "I have to give more PSA commercial but live. I thought I was done with that," How many of those had they made him do? He couldn't even remember anymore. Steve just knew they kept wanting him to give live speeches now, "You'll be a hard act to follow." 

"You''ll do fine. Everyone loves Captain America."

"Not as much as they love a queen with ice powers."

"Well, blame Disney for that. I'm surprised they haven't tried to sue me yet."

Steve remembered when Disney's Snow White came out, and how much joy it brought to the kids in his neighbourhood. It was kind of a let down that they turned out to be, in Tony's words, an evil cooperation who was trying to take over the world, one lawsuit and IP at a time.

"Break a leg Steve," Pepper told him, waving him off when the announcer called his name.

Steve plastered his performing monkey smile onto his face while he bounded up the stairs. He waved to the crowd as they cheered for him. He really wished they'd stop using him as the Avenger's PR machine. He was already sick of that when the army made him do it back in the war. He doubted he'd be free anytime soon. He put it down as a necessary evil. He just hoped it actually helped someone somehow.

"Hello everyone," he started his usual speech, thanking them all for coming. He made sure to look over the audience, because he wanted them to feel included. He glanced over the face at first, because his mind knew it wasn't possible. He dismissed it the moment he saw it, even with the sting of pain that went with it. Steve always felt it when there was something that reminded him of Bucky. 

He kept talking, speech on autopilot, but he couldn't get the image out of his mind, even as his logic told him he was being foolish to think it was anything. He found the face in the crowd again. The man was standing near the front, behind a row of energetic, bouncing children. He was wearing a ball cap that did a great of job of shadowing his face, and the longer hair covered it even more. He wore dark clothes and was slouching to make himself less noticeable. Despite it all, Steve found his eyes and stared. When he noticed, the man straightened and looked right back at him. Steve knew those eyes. He had grown up with those eyes looking at him with every emotion known to man. The last thing he had seen in them was the terror shining through as he hung from the edge of a train. It was the last memory he had of his best friend. He couldn't be here now. Bucky had died decades ago, before Steve was lost to the ice. It couldn't...it couldn't...

The words he was supposed to say caught in his throat. He couldn't look away, and his brain was still telling him it was impossible. Bucky was dead and that couldn't be him, no matter how uncanny the resemblance was. Then the man stepped out from behind the now confused children. He shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish smile. That's when Steve new that this was real. Steve's world narrowed down to this one vision. Bucky was there. He was standing right in front of him, looking no different than that day on the train seventy years ago. How could this be happening? How could Bucky be there, as though none of it happened? 

There was a presence to his left, but he barely noticed until a hand touched his arm. Even then, when Pepper's concerned voice said his name, he barely registered it. 

"Steve?" She tried again, clearly worried that her friend had just gone stock still. She followed his gaze to the crowd, and then her breath caught.

Steve's trance was shattered by Pepper's scream. Steve was instantly on guard, shock or not, because he would help protect her no matter what. It took him a moment to realize it was a sound of joy. In the most un-Pepper like action he had ever seen, she jumped off the stage and ran towards the crowd. When Steve managed to call her name, she ignored him as much as he had ignored her a moment ago. She flung herself at...at...at the man who had stepped out. He caught her and spun her around. They were both laughing, loud and overjoyed, as he spun her. When they finally stopped moving, they clung to each other like they were each other's lifelines. Steve was even more confused, and it broke through the rumbling in his head. He needed to know what this was...he had to know if this was even real. None of this made sense, but if Bucky was alive...if he was here...

He hopped off the stage, following in Pepper's footsteps. He walked towards the two of them, each step seeming to take an eternity to make. It was slow, for all that they were so close. By the time he was finally in hearing distance, Pepper and...Bucky were talking, holding hands in a grip so strong it had to hurt. Pepper had tears making her eyes shine and even...Bucky looked like he was about to shed a few.

"- not short!"

"Face it Sis, you're the short one of the family. You take after Mom and Dad for that."

Finally -finally- he reached them. The casual joking left them both. Bucky stiffened when he realized that Steve was there. It was awkward for half a second, and then it was replaced, almost sheepish and hesitant, "Hey Steve." 

"You fell," was all Steve could get out past his dry throat. It was all he could think, looking at the best friend who was supposed to be dead. His mind couldn't move past it. 

"I did," he replied softly, and reached out and gripped his shoulder. Steve didn't feel the squeeze, not with the shock he was still in, "and it was really bad there for awhile. I didn't...I didn't get out before you crashed."

He said nothing, so Bucky panicked a little and started to speak faster, words tripping over themselves, "If you had been there, I would have come, but then you were with Thor. I would have killed him. I should have...I wanted...I just..." he trailed off, desperate for Steve to say something, anything, "Steve, Please..." 

"You fell," Steve repeated it again, because how could he not? "Bucky, you fell." And now Steve was crying. This was real. Bucky was here, right in front of him. He grabbed him and pulled his best friend into a fierce hug. After a bewildered moment, Bucky was hugging him, just as tightly. 

There were shouts around them, questions from the press that had gathered. Pepper was fielding some of them, buying them as much time as she could. Steve could have cared more, because this should be private. He couldn't make himself do it.

"Damn," Bucky pulled back, though he kept a hand on Steve's arm, "Knew I should have done this later, but I couldn't miss the chance to catch up with The Captain America Show. Forgot about those super soldier eyes of yours."

"How?"

This time Bucky looked away, "I wanted to tell you. I tried to tell you, lots of times, but I couldn't. You were too good to let it slide. If you knew what they'd done, you would have gone for Asgard, fists up."

Asgard. Bucky surviving that fall. Not aging. The parts fell into place, "You're one of them, Loki's kids."

Bucky grinned, and Steve could see Loki in it, now that he was looking, "I still prefer Bucky, but you can call me Fenrir if you really want to. Fen works too."

Steve ran through all the things he knew about Fenrir. The youngest of Loki's kids. Giant wolf. Locked up by a chain. Hela's brother...Pepper's brother.

His gaze flew to the woman, and found she was watching him anxiously. She gave a helpless shrug of her shoulders and apologized, "I'm sorry Steve. It wasn't my place to say."

"Don't blame Hela," Bucky jumped to his sister's defence, "she didn't know where I was anyway. She did her best with that interview."

Even if he wanted to, he wasn't going to blame Pepper. She had reasons for her secrets. Those reasons were literally life and death. It still stung though, knowing he could have had Bucky back for the past three years, if only one of them had said something. 

"So you did see the interview," Pepper's voice was soft, "I didn't think you did, when I didn't get a call in the last three months." 

"Everyone and their dog saw that interview Hela. They replayed it for a month. I had some loose ends to tie up," Bucky lowered his voice, not in shame, but so no one else would overhear, "I had to make sure I wouldn't tear apart the first Aesir I saw without stopping to think it over."

"There aren't any Asgardians here. Thor's not welcomed back as long as he threatens Pepper. The only one allowed on Earth is the king, and it's only to negotiate Pepper's release from his unfair punishment."

Bucky whistled, "I'm impressed. You arrange all that by yourself?" 

"Not all of it," Pepper replied, and cut herself off before she said anything else about it, "This isn't the place."

The press was still there, as were hundreds of different cellphones. None of them had pressed forward yet, but it was only a matter of time. Pepper turned on her heel and marched back towards the stage. Bucky and Steve had nothing to do but follow. It was the signal that everyone took to rush forward, screaming questions.

"Ms. Potts, is this one of your brothers?"

"Mr. Barnes, is that really you?"

"What is your opinion of what your father has done?"

"Captain Rogers, did you know about this?"

Pepper huffed an irritated sigh and flicked her wrist. A wall of ice rumbled up from the ground, putting a barrier between them and the reporters. Steve gaped and Bucky whistled in appreciation. They followed her into the backstage waiting tent. She whispered words in a language Steve didn't know and gust of wind whipped around them. Steve could smell lilies on it, and an undertone of decay. It made him shudder.

"We're blocked. No one can hear us."

"Damn Sis. That's a lot more magic than you had last time."

"I've practiced over the past three hundred years," she informed him, and a shadow briefly passed over her face, "especially in the past few months."

Bucky nodded, face scrunched in anger. He bared his teeth, and it sent a shiver down Steve's spine. He saw the wolf there, buried under Bucky's skin, and a part of him was frightened by it. He knew the myths about Loki's wolf son and had heard Pepper's stories of his rage. He didn't like seeing it in Bucky's expression. Even more than that, he hated he felt any misgivings at all. He pushed it down, buried it deep under the joy he was feeling. This time he was the one to reach out and squeeze Bucky's shoulder in comfort. 

"I'm going to guess Father helped with that plan," Bucky said, "if you're not willing to say it in front of that crowd."

Pepper nodded, "When he came and gave me back my glamour. The three of us came up with a plan together. Father knows how to deal with Asgard better than anyone else in this realm."

Not very well, Steve thought but didn't say. If Loki -current escaped criminal and attempted usurper to the crown- was the expert they were using, they probably didn't have all that much of a chance of success. The thought left his stomach tightening in fear, so he pushed it away. Bucky must have sensed the change, so he threw an arm around his shoulders. Steve enjoyed the comfort, even if he wondered how Bucky had known he needed it so soon. He'd heard once that wolves could smell fear. Maybe it worked the same for Buck? He'd have to ask later. Suddenly, Steve's world titled on its axis for a moment, the sheer strangeness of this all making his head whirl. Reality adjusted itself. He was used to his world changing so abruptly, that dealing with this wasn't as hard as it would have been, even a few years ago. He was just so happy to have his friend back. He didn't care about anything. 

"How is he? Father?"

Pepper didn't speak for a long time, "He...he's not good, but maybe...not as bad? He hasn't been acting as crazy, since we met. I don't know if it's because he's finally dealing with his issues or just because he knows he needs to lay low to help us. I haven't seen him since. I want to, but..."

It wasn't fair to make Pepper choose like that, but it was the only way. No matter how badly Loki had been treated in the past, it didn't excuse what he'd done. It meant he deserved a lot more mercy than Steve would have assumed when Loki first stood in Germany, demanding people kneel before him. He deserved a chance of redemption, and maybe this would make it possible. For Bucky and Pepper's sakes, Steve hoped he took it.

"I wish..." Bucky didn't finish for a long time, and then was quiet and when he started again, "it's been a long time. I wish I could see him." 

"You'll get your chance," Steve interrupted, causing them to look over at him in shock. He continued, "Tony turned a blind eye for Pepper. I'm going to do the same. As long as Loki promises not to damage anything, we'll figure it out. You deserve it Buck. He does too, after everything that tore you apart."

Bucky was speechless, standing there with his mouth open. Pepper was finally crying, "Father called you a pillar of righteousness once," she said, "he wasn't wrong." 

Steve felt his cheeks heat, "Maybe you'll be able to convince him to turn himself in."

Bucky snorted, "Hardly likely, but I'll try. Any word from Jor?"

Pepper shook her head, "Nothing. Maybe he'll come now that you're here," there was wistful longing in her voice, and it touched Steve. He knew what it was to be alone, the people you loved torn away.

"Then we'll make sure to get a room ready at HQ for him as well," Steve said and then looked to Bucky, "We'll make sure it's next door to yours."

"You offering a place to stay Steve?"

"I figure you'll probably need one with enough security to slow down any Asgardians that might show up."

"We're going to be roommates then. We going to stay up late for sleepovers and braiding each other's hair?"

"Are you two dating? Do I have to arrange for a chaperone?" Pepper's words were a tease, and made Steve choke. Bucky laughed.

"Nah, Steve's too sweet for the likes of me."

"I'm not sweet," Steve grumbled, still a bit startled by Pepper's question, joke or not. No one had actually asked that before. Well, at least not to his face. 

"Sure Steve, whatever you say."

Pepper was laughing and Bucky was grinning. Steve was somewhere in the middle. There were so many questions he needed answers to. There were so many issues this would cause. There was so much to talk about, but Steve couldn't care less. Bucky fell, but he was here now. Nothing else mattered more than that. Bucky had come back to him, and that was all he needed.


End file.
